Golden Rule Sunday School Lesson for Kids

This free Golden Rule Sunday school lesson teaches kids to treat others the way they want to be treated. On the mountain, Jesus said, "Ask, and it shall be given you" (Matthew 7:7). No father gives his son a stone when he asks for bread, and "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (7:11). "Therefore," Jesus said, do for others what you would want them to do for you (7:12). It comes in four age levels, each a separate printable teacher lesson, plus one take-home sheet for families.

Choose your age level

• Preschool (ages 3–5), 20–30 minutes, 2 pages: a knock-and-give game with a box of toy food, a short story with hand motions and repeat-after-me lines, three simple questions, a shortened memory verse ("do ye even so to them") with a motion, and a kind-hands drawing.
• Kindergarten to 2nd grade, 45 minutes, 3 pages: the Mirror Me game, the story told with a rock and a piece of bread, five recall questions with answers, the Seven Strips memory verse game, and a Show It acting game.
• 3rd to 5th grade, 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: a want-it-or-not game, kids look up verses in their own Bibles during a fuller story (ask, seek and knock, "being evil," "Therefore," the law and the prophets), five thinking questions and three recall questions, and a Bible look-up race.
• Preteens (ages 11–12), 45–60 minutes, 3 pages: students read Matthew 7:7–12, Luke 6:31 and Matthew 22:37–40 out loud themselves, then look closer at "Therefore," a rule that says "do," and the best gift (Luke 11:13). Six discussion questions, a journal page, and two memory verses (Matthew 7:12 and Luke 6:31).

Lesson at a glance

• Bible passage: Matthew 7:7–12
• Main point: Treat others the way you want to be treated, because God is good to us.
• Memory verse: Matthew 7:12 (KJV), with Luke 6:31 added for preteens
• Ages: preschool to preteen, in four versions

Lesson outline (the same in every version)

1. Opening game: a short game about treating others the way you want to be treated.
2. Bible story: Jesus teaches on the mountain (Matthew 5:1–2): ask, seek, knock (7:7–8), bread or a stone, a fish or a serpent (7:9–10), "how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?" (7:11), the Golden Rule (7:12), and the astonished crowd (7:28–29). Every fact has its verse reference so you can check it.
3. Questions to ask: with answers, at the right level for each age.
4. Memory verse: a game or motion to help kids learn Matthew 7:12.
5. What this means for us: God gives good things, the gospel (Acts 2:38), and a challenge for the week.
6. Activity: the Golden Rule word search, a craft, an acting game, a Bible look-up race or a journal page, depending on the age.
7. Prayer.

Tips for teaching the Golden Rule

• Bring a real rock and a real piece of bread. Kids remember Jesus' question much better when they see how silly it would be to hand someone a stone to eat.
• Point out the word "Therefore" in Matthew 7:12. Jesus ties the Golden Rule to God's good gifts: God is good to us, so we are good to others.
• The name "Golden Rule" isn't in the Bible; the words of Matthew 7:12 are Jesus' own. Each lesson says so simply.
• Short on time? Do the story, three questions and the memory verse. That is a solid 25-minute lesson.